Busting Hunt

It's been more than four months since Lt. Bill Hunt of the OC Sheriff's Department was suspended from duty. Hunt wasn't suspended for hanging out with known mob associates (that was Sheriff Carona smiling for photos with guys who could pass for characters in a Martin Scorsese film), or caught on tape canoodling with a low-ranking sheriff's department employee (again, that was Carona). No, Hunt's suspension came on the heels of his unsuccessful run for sheriff during the last election. And while the suspension smelled more than a little like revenge for Hunt's attempt to unseat the Carona, the sheriff's office, of course, denied there was any element of retribution involved in Hunt's suspension. Now the sheriff's office is denying that there is any element of retribution in the Notice of Proposed Discipline that was issued to Hunt yesterday.